30 years of creativity in Salisbury District Hospital - and no signs of slowing down
ArtCare in marking a major milestone in 2023
If you’ve seen a sunny-seaside watercolour painting along one of Salisbury District Hospital’s corridors in recent weeks, then ArtCare is the service to thank for bringing such landscapes to Odstock.
They’re the arts in health service which have been bringing exhibitions, workshops, musical performances and many other activities to the hospital for three decades now.
This month they’re currently showcasing the peaceful landscape works of artist Pete Appleford along the hospital’s main corridor - until March 16th - and it’s all part of ArtCare's belief in the power of art.
Their work aims to strengthen links between healthcare and the arts, and to raise awareness of the value of having a creative hospital environment - to improve the safety and wellbeing of both staff and patients.
The team currently has ‘two and a half members’ says Lesley Self, who organises all the art and exhibitions they put on, and it's the surprising appearance of art, and creativity in a hospital which can be so important:
“There is something about it that’s maybe unexpected. People wouldn’t expect to be experiencing those things here, and often it’s people who would never go into a museum or an art gallery, and they’ll say oh I haven’t done this since I was at school.”
It’s this difference which she feels is really valuable for patients and staff - which is added to further by the hospital’s location:
“Because we’re in the middle of the countryside we’re almost like a town on our own, and so we have this great community of staff and people who are coming here, and the art is something special that helps people come together as a community.”
Lesley says that it’s the variety of what ArtCare put on which also really helps everyone - which might help explain why the service has gone on for 30 years - since the district hospital opened:
“Every week is something completely different. So today we’ve been hanging an exhibition up and doing origami. Next week, I might be going to a community group and doing a history project, and there’s something about it that’s unexpected, people wouldn’t expect to be doing these things here.”
Though there’s also a regular schedule of events - that add to the calmness needed at a hospital, as Lesley Self explains:
“One of the biggest aspects is visitors coming into see patients, and often they might visit the exhibitions and have something to talk about together when visiting”.
“We have musicians working on the wards three days a week, and when there’s music playing in the environment it helps give the hospital a relaxing feeling”.